Paying His Visits
by TheWrongJedi
Summary: Jane doesn't know why it's the Mischievous one who comes back for her, and not the one who gave her his word. Lokane AU.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

* * *

Maybe, Jane thinks, it was all a ruse for some reality T.V. show where they take the most unspecting, easily fooled people and give them a god of guy to fall in love with then have him disappear off the face of the Earth- literally.

Or maybe Thor was real, and those SHIELD guys weren't camera men.

Ever since five years ago, Jane had felt her flipped turned fast paced a-guy-just-fell-from-the-heavens life fall back into usual routine of star gazing and pretending the hours on the clock weren't ticking away every time thunder storms happened to pass by Puento Antiguo and her heart would race thinking Thor had finally come back.

But it was never him.

And Jane had resigned herself to the fact that perhaps Thor had never really liked her at all, had only had his fun, thought she was suitable a replacement to fulfill the empty gap where his powers would be, then got his powers back and no longer needed her.

She had merely been a pivotal point in his seemingly never ending life span. She was probably already forgotten about, and Thor had no mind of what he had forgotten on Earth. His promise, the kiss...

Jane had reduced herself to sweat pants and her rebounders- Ben & Jerry.

She wept at night, at least once every two months, and wondered why it had to be her that this happened to. She was just simple Jane, trying to find meaning to life, a girl whose eyes never stopped looking to the stars, and suddenly a very attractive, very good-looking man happens to drop into her life and sweep her off her feet...

Jane berated herself. She knew it was too good to be true. Things like that didn't just happen to _her, _they happened to the prettier women who took up breathing space, the ones who were super models and had no brains. Not sciency dorks like her who wore t-shirts with logos on them.

Well, in those five years, Jane had gone on about two dates, both with the same guy. He wasn't anything special, he had worked at the gas station, and had a mowhawk. But never the less, it was him who decided they should stop seeing each other, and Jane had agreed with hesitant relief. Darcy had graduated college, and moved to a town about five hours from where she lived. They still kept in touch though, sometimes over Skype, sometimes over emails. Never over a phone though, neither of them had a phone. Erik, who still worked with SHEILD wasn't around as much as he used to be. He came by at least once a year, his stay ranging anywhere from one day to one month, mostly during December.

Jane lived alone, and her "temporary living space" had pretty much ended up being her current residence. SHEILD had offered to relocate her to several different parts of the world, places where her research would better be completed, but she turned down their offer each time.

There was just something about the heat of the desert that Jane couldn't stand to be without, and the fact that Thor might possibly come back one day...

So, it was night, around eleven or so. Jane had ditched trying to work when she found her eyes couldn't handle the blurry way they roamed the computer screen any longer and went to the roof of the lab. She took her usual seat, started a fire, and laid back in the recliner- peering up through half lidded eyes at the sky. The stars were twinkling down at her, and Jane felt a warm rush in her forehead. The ache of work melted away as the stars placed a soothing balm on her brain.

She laid there for another half hour, counting the stars until she couldn't process any more numbers and felt her eyes drifting shut. The already dark land seemed to drift darker until Jane was fully cozy, wrapped up in her big wool blanket, and shifted to her side.

She blinked her eyes before shutting them again.

Jane's heart leaped to her throat when she snapped them open not a second later.

Sitting in the chair next to her, was a man, dressed in dress pants and a long coat, with a scarf hanging over his shoulders and slicked back, black hair- he was staring at her.

"What the-?" Jane flipped out of her chair and landed smack on her rear as she watched him stand, carefully as if he had a stiff back, to his feet.

"I wondered when you would finally notice my presence." He told her, his voice lax and smooth- it made her calm, much to her chagrin. "You are a very distracted person."

Jane only stared at him.

But then her voice caught up to her brain, and she couldn't contain the words as they spilled from her mouth.

"Who the hell are you? How did you get up here?" Jane asked, rising to her feet and backing away as far as she could without falling off the building. She knew though, as soon as she had taken her first step back and something in his posture changed, that she had made the wrong move. Jane shouldn't have shown fear, because the moment she did he narrowed his eyes, a ghost of a smile pulled at his lips, and he slowly advanced on her.

He stopped at arms length, right when her foot skimmed the edge of the platform.

"You're afraid, Jane Foster."

His voice went from smooth to cold, and frightening. Jane shivered.

"How do you know my name?" She asked, trying to contain the bile from rising in her throat. Her hands shook, and instinctevly Jane tried to reach out for something to grab onto. There were no rails on this roof though, only open air. Jane found the only other thing she could grab on to steady herself with was this stranger.

That wasn't an option.

"I think you know me, you just refuse to remember." He informed her, his voice like a purr.

Jane narrowed her eyes at him, the only light making out his facial shapes the one of the moon and the fire-pit. But despite little access to light, she could tell his face was long and angular, and... _pretty. _He had soft, green eyes, but they were also sharp, the kind of eyes that didn't miss a thing. They seemed to travel all over her without even moving. Jane felt intimidated.

And then memories of the news from about four years ago danced around her brain. The same man in front of her, reaking havoc on New York, trying to kill Thor, taking over Erik's mind.

Jane stared at him in shock as he slowly smiled.

If possible, she became even more fearful. This man was dangerous, and Jane feared what his purpose might be for her this night. But suddenly, as if in the snap of a finger, the fear was replaced by rage. Jane glared at him, and his smile was replaced by confusion. His eyebrows knit, his eyes narrowed, and before he could figure out her own change in demeanor he felt himself stumble backwards onto his back.

He looked up just in time to see Jane's arms falling back to her sides as her face went pale with realization. Her eyes were wide, her mouth agape as she watched in complete fear for his reaction.

Loki blinked at her in astonishment when he realized she had _pushed _him.

He got back onto his feet quicker than she could run past him, and snagged her left arm in a vice like grip while her body seemed to go paralyzed as he dragged her down. She went completely rigid with fear until she no longer felt the stable roof top beneath her feet.

Jane looked down.

Below her was open air, and when she looked back up she saw the only thing holding her up was Loki. He had her by her left arm, and she clung to him with her other arm as her feet kicked and dangled helplessly.

She shot him a panicked look as he sneered.

He brought her close to his face.

"You have courage, Jane Foster." Loki whispered, making the skin behind her ear tingle. "But courage will not save you."

Jane gulped, shut her eyes, and prayed to the all seeing Heimdall that he would tell Thor it was Loki, his deranged brother, who ended her life.

But the grip on her left arm never loosened.

Jane opened one eye to see Loki simply staring at her.

Jane found her voice surprising when it escaped past her clamped down mouth. "What...?"

He brought her back to the roof slowly, (and... _gently_?) as he continued to look at her transfixed, as if he were seeing her for the first time.

Jane immediately scrambled to her side when Loki released her, but didnt run away. She told herself that it was because she was uncertain of what he might do, but in all honesty it was because Jane wanted to know why he hadn't killed her.

He knit his eyebrows.

"You accepted it, did not scream or cry out for anyone. You took your near death in stride." He sounded baffled, and surprised. And he looked utterly lost.

"You- you would have killed me anyway." She manged weakly, watching in horror as his hands flexed. "Would it have mattered?"

He looked back up at her in amusement. Jane found his constant expressions switching from one to another so quickly quite unnerving.

"No, I suppose it wouldn't have. But any normal being would have not accepted death so quickly... Do you not value your life?" He grinned wolfishly at her.

"I... Of course! I-I value my life!" She sputtered, taking another step back.

His face went neutral again.

"You are flustered, Jane Foster, and most entertaining. I think I shall keep you around for awhile, if only for my amusement. Lets hope for your sake you continue to thrill me."

Then he vanished.

Jane had found herself not quite prepared for his numerous amounts of visits in the future.

* * *

Jane had accepted her encounter with Loki to all have simply been a dream, all in her head. And she had believed it too. Jane had made it all work out to where it was just sleep deprivation and lack of being social to where her insanity had taken control and formed a response to her body's state of mind.

And it all worked out extremly well for her sanity until he reappeared not but two weeks later.

Night had fallen quickly, and Jane had just finished making herself another mug of coffee when she decided she would go through her old star charts. She kept a file from years ago when her mom and dad were still around, and from when they use to map constellations together. There was one from the day she was born, and Jane laughed at the memory of her mother explaining how Erik and her father, rather than be there when she was born, had charted where the stars had all been aligned at the exact time she came into the world. There was also star charts on her birthday every year after that, up until twelve, at least. That was the year her parents had died. Instead of celebrating like normal children with presents and cake, Jane would go with her parents and Erik out to Norway and spend a few days in their old, worn out trailers with telescopes and maps.

Jane sighed, closed the file, and emptied her cup of coffee into the sink when she saw the light shift in the lab from the corner of her eye, and saw the silhouette of a body cascade over her kitchen counter.

Jane slowly looked over shoulder, grabbed a knife from the drawer she was standing over, and turned her whole body- with knife behind back- to see Loki standing by her kitchen table.

"Hello, Jane." He nodded toward her, smiled, and walked around to the other side of the table.

Jane kept her distance, gripped the knife hard, and scooted slowly toward the end of the kitchen. Loki looked upon Jane as if she were amusing as she struggled to keep her breathing normal.

"Loki..." She acknowledged, her hand held the knifes handle so tightly her knuckles had probably turned white. Jane watched in silent fear as he slowly smiled at her, his eyes alight with crazed mirth as he shook his head and laughed at her. Jane knit her eyebrows in confusion, and backed herself completely into the wall when he walked closer to her.

"We both know you aren't going to use that pathetic mortal weapon you have held behind your back, so what good does it for you to keep it there?" He asked, his lips curling upward at the ends.

Jane gulped and shook in startled surprise when his arm suddenly shot out and reached behind her back, his fingers curled around her wrist as he brought the knife out and between them. She looked up at him with wide, frightened eyes as it clattered to the floor.

Neither broke eye contact until the lab was dead silent. Loki slowly uncurled his fingers from Jane's wrist and backed up by one step.

"I hope you weren't planning on killing me?" He asked, trying to look innocent. Jane saw past his façade though, and glared menacingly.

"How do I know you won't kill me?" She asked, kicking the knife away, hoping to distract Loki. Unfortunatley, his eyes didn't leave hers for a second.

"Come now!" He exclaimed, making Jane jump. "If I wanted to kill you I would have done it long ago."

"You were going to," Jane chocked out, spreading her fingers out against the wall behind her. "That night, you wanted to... to kill me."

His smile vanished.

"Indeed," He admitted, taking another step back. "I did."

This only confirmed Jane's suspicions ever since he popped up on her roof that night. She looked down, saw the knife glint against the lights overhead and felt sweat bead her hairline. Her heart was hammering against her chest, and not because the room had just gotten extremely hot. Jane had prepared for this, prepared to confront Loki again and be able to defend her self this time. But Loki wasn't threatening her, and Jane found it utterly confusing.

"Why?" She asked, watching as he appeared to be contemplating that himself.

"I don't know..." He whispered, looking lost- Jane found herself thinking the expression didn't fit his face quite right.

If possible, Jane became only more confused. She looked to the floor, saw a flash of light, and snapped her head back up to see-

That Loki was gone.

Jane had another cup of coffee before going to bed that night.

* * *

The next time he visited her, it was earlier than expected.

She had decided that she was going to take a vacation away from her research and go socialize with the town people. She had not seen many of them in weeks, and the town sheriff had even stopped by once just to make sure she hadn't dropped dead.

So, Jane found herself at the newly re-opened diner. Marty, the owner, hadn't had the money to pay for damages after the Destroyer came and pretty much made their little twin a scrap pile. After five years, and construction workers continuously coming in and out of Puente, the restaurant had finally been completed.

Jane was at a small table, alone, looking up and down the menu when she heard the seat across from her scoot out, and a body place itself down to occupy by the red leather cushion.

Jane jumped slightly when she saw Loki, looking a bit more causal than the last few visits, smile at her- teeth and all.

Jane felt the questioning gazes of the town folk settle on them, and her face grew hot.

"What are you doing here?" She hissed, praying to the Lord that these people would just stop staring. No doubt that by the end of today, news of Jane; the workaholic who never left the lab at the end of town had a tall, mysterious boyfriend.

As if they didn't think she weird enough after being seen involved with Thor and SHEILD.

He smiled brighter.

"It is good to see you too!" He laughed, and Jane was relieved to see everyone turn back to whatever they had previously been doing.

"Are you insane?" She asked, closing the menu and smacking it violently down onto the table. "These people might recognize you! SHEILD is probably listening to us as we speak!"

"You fret over nothing," Loki informed her, picking up the menu she had just set down and looking through it with a disgusted face.

"Get out of here." Jane said through clenched teeth, watching as people risked glances toward their table. Half the restaurant seemed to have gone silent listening to their conversation.

He peered at her over the top of the menu.

"You want me to leave?" He sounded wounded, and his voice had been far louder than he needed it to be for Jane to hear. Jane was positive that _everyone _was staring at them now.

Jane felt her cheeks grow red, and looked around nervously before settling her eyes on Loki as he smiled playfully and winked at her. Instead of for letting herself be humiliated in front of him, Jane got up, grabbed her clutch, and stormed out of the restaurant.

Loki was out of his seat the moment he heard the door close and started after her, all while laughing.

"Jane!" He yelled, running to her side. "What's the rush?"

"You and your bipolar, egotistical, handsome person!" She yelled, surprising herself as well as Loki. "You've just embarrassed me in front of half the town, and now you don't even have the decency to leave like you usually do!"

Jane was surprised, but not all that shocked when his hand suddenly caught her chest and stopped her in her tracks.

"Jane..." He spoke her name in a way that she had never heard before, and Jane watched, transfixed, as his green eyes turned emerald in the desert sun as he gazed meaningfully at her.

"Do you not enjoy my company?"

The question didn't come in his usual sarcastic way, but rather as if he truly meant the question, and sounded hurt as if he believed she didn't like him at all- which was true.

"I-I don't..." She stuttered, her eyes drinking in every detail of his face. She had not realized how close he had gotten until his nose was almost resting on hers. She bit her lip and shook him away.

"I don't know what to even think about you!" Jane exclaimed, shoving him back. He did not object to the contact, and Jane summed it up to where he decided against killing her so openly in public. He would probably wait until tonight, when she was in bed and couldn't get away, then slay her where she lie.

Jane took off toward the lab again, dust rolling in her wake as her feet stomped down on the dirt one after the other.

"What ever do you mean?" He called, and Jane huffed when his snarky, sarcastic voice returned.

"Just leave me alone!" She yelled, tears filling her eyes. "I've had enough! You and your threats of killing me, them not killing me, then coming and going as you please! It's driving me insane!"

Loki stopped dead in his tracks when she turned to face him, tears streaming down her face, and stared blankly as she tried to contain her sobs.

He stepped closer toward her when he decided she wasn't going to turn tail and run again, and slowly, without his consent, Loki's hand reached out and cupped her face. Jane blinked at him through blurry eyes as he did so, and for some reason unknown to Jane her heart fluttered at the contact of his skin to hers.

Loki's other hand came up to wipe away a stray tear, and he caught it with his thumb.

"I... I didn't mean to make you upset, Lady Jane." He said, his voice held no humour at her expense. Jane was surprised- Loki actually sounded concerned.

But she wouldn't let his fake sympathy suck her into his game, whatever that game may be.

He was _The God of Lies, _after all.

Jane slowly pulled her face out of his hands, and watched him through skeptic, red eyes before turning and walking away.

Jane was relieved, and a little guilty, when she found he had not followed her this time.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

* * *

She had just gotten out of the shower, brushed out her hair, threw on a towel, and glanced at herself in the mirror before heading to her bedroom.

Jane had to do a double take when she found she didn't recognize the person staring back at her.

This girl, who resembled her _somewhat, _had deep bags under her eyes, a pale face, and hollow cheeks. And her eyes, oh her eyes, once a bright auburn color, were now a dull and faded brown, something like mud.

Jane sighed and went to get dressed.

She rummaged around in her dresser for a bit until she found the usual garb: faded jeans and a t-shirt with a jacket to top it all off.

And she was just about to undress too.

Until she saw him, dressed in more casual attire this time, laying back on her bed. His feet were crossed at the ankles and his hands were under his head, supporting himself to catch the view.

Jane screamed, quickly wrapped the towel back onto herself and prayed the most of anything he caught exposed was the skin only above her knee.

His smug face showed he had gotten an eye full, and probably more.

"I think I prefer you much better this way, Jane Foster." He smiled, teeth and all, and breathed in deeply as he took in her soaking wet, half naked body. Seriously, the only thing separating his eyes from her dripping wet skin was a flimsy towel!

"Get out!" She yelled, throwing her jeans at him. "Who the hell do you think you are?"

His smile only widened.

"I see now why Thor fell for you so quickly." He admitted, tossing her jeans lazily to the side. "You are a feisty one, and not exactly a sore on the eyes."

Jane felt her face grow hot.

"Leave!" She barked, a little embarrassed, a little pissed he brought up Thor.

He sighed. "If you wish it, then..." Loki swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood. "I would certainly like to do this again sometime though, if you don't mind?"

Jane heard his laughter echo through her trailer as her t-shirt passed through the space he once occupied.

* * *

Food had become scarce in her lab, and likewise her trailer, and deciding that it wouldn't do well to starve, Jane faced the public of the small town and went to buy groceries at the towns dollar store.

When Jane arrived, she parked the van, went inside and grabbed a shopping cart before heading straight towards the frozen section to get the usual microwave dinner when she ran into Sally.

Sally, the town gossip, knew everything about everyone. Not one detail of a persons life ever escaped her sharp ears.

No doubt she knew about the "strange man" who had "gone on a date" with her.

Jane didn't have time to silently retreat before Sally's blue eyes caught her figure, and her short, bulky build came trudging down the aisle toward her.

"Jane!" She yelled, waving, Jane was forced to stop and hug the woman when she finally reached her.

"Hey, Sally." Jane put on her best fake smile and tried not to gag on the scent of her perfume.

"I heard you were datin' that tall stranger!" Sally's bubbly voice could probably be heard all across the store, and Jane winced.

"Um, haha! Ugh... No, we aren't dating, Sally."

"Oh..." Sally looked lost, and her exuberance quickly dissipated. "But I was so certain..."

Jane rose an eyebrow. "Certain about what?"

"Well, I met him at the bar the other night."

Jane rose both eyebrows at this in surprise. And here she thought he was only paying her visits. Jane didn't know why, but suddenly she felt a twinge of jealousy.

"You did?" Jane asked, and Sally bobbed her head up and down in excitement as she explained.

"Came in for diner, and I hear all this talk of this mysterious stranger, and then there he is! Sitting at the end of the bar, drinking shots of tequila!"

Jane knit her eyebrows. "Tequila, really?"

Sally nodded, pursed her lips, then continued.

"I was curious, so I went and sat down by him. He greeted me, what a polite young man if I may so myself, and I asked him if the rumors were true. Ya know, about you and him!" Sally giggled. "And he wouldn't shut up about you! Talking about how great you were, and how pretty you were! And he just spent the duration of the night going on about how lovely you are! If I'm not mistaken I think he's smitten with you! But from what you tell me I'm not sure anymore."

Jane narrowed her eyes. "Are you sure he wasn't just a little drunk?"

"Oh, no doubt in my mind!" Sally exclaimed, sighing. "Drunk on you!"

Sally took off before Jane was able to get another word in edge wise.

XXXXXXX

Jane wasn't all that surprised when he showed up the following night.

"What now?" She asked, throwing a frozen pizza into the oven and flopping down onto the couch in her lab.

Loki watched her with amusment as he made his way toward her, sitting down next her on the couch but taking a more... _lax, _position.

Jane looked at him, rolled her eyes, and voiced her opinion. She didn't care anymore if he threatened to kill her, or got mad. Jane was pretty much use to his behavior.

"You sit like a whore."

He only stared at her.

"I beg your pardon?" He sounded confused, not hurt. Jane stifled a laugh.

"Your knees are like, _four _miles apart."

Loki slowly brought his legs back together, and brought his right hand to his heart.

"I apologize, Jane Foster," He said rather melodramatically. "I will try to not sit like such a _whore, _from now on."

Jane couldn't help the laugh that escaped her lips. They way he had phrased his apology, Jane had no doubt, was targeted to make her laugh.

Well, it had worked.

After Jane's laughter died away, the two were left in silence.

Jane thought about earlier, when Sally had informed her of Loki's gab of her, and a slight smile tugged at Jane's lips. "I heard something really interesting today." She said, looking at him from the corner of her eye.

He eyed her skeptically. "And what would that be?"

"A woman named Sally, she said she met you the other night at the bar. She said you wouldn't stop talking about me."

Loki froze.

Jane found it in his eyes, the fact that what she had just said was true, and found her cocky aura of hoping he would tell her she was wrong had vanished.

"You... you really did?"

He said nothing.

"Loki?"

"I apologize if I may have upset you with my intoxicated state of mind. I, admit I don't remember much of the other night. I may have been rather rash in my story telling."

"Oh, I see." That's all Jane could think of saying before the silence crept back into the room.

Jane knit her eyebrows when the reality of the situation caught up to her.

"What are you doing here?" She asked him, reflexively scooting away a tiny bit.

He turned to look at her, something in his face unreadable as he watched her edge closer to the end of the couch.

"You seem to always think I have a motive." Loki observed, sighing. Jane stopped moving.

"Well, because your you. Sorry if I can't think the guy who tried to take over the world isn't gonna have a motive for constantly showing up at my doorstep."

He only stared at her.

"Why do you come here Loki?" Jane asked, resting her head back against the couch cushion. "I-I don't think your plan is to kill me anymore."

He smiled at her sorrowfully.

"You do not enjoy my company then."

Jane blinked at him.

"Not most do. I will leave, if my presence upsets you so."

He got up, and right when Jane saw the tendrils of green spark at his fingers she shot up and grabbed his arm.

"Wait!"

The magic he had summoned vanished. He rose his eyebrows at her before lowering his arm, and Jane wondered to herself why in the nine realms she hadn't let him leave.

"Um, I mean, you must be hungry. I have pizza in the oven. You- you're welcome to stay."

Loki stared at her. His expression was an unreadable mask. Jane held her breath while she waited for his response.

He truly surprised her.

"I'm afraid I must decline your gracious offer." Loki gulped, and looked away. "Goodnight, Jane Foster."

Before she could protest, he was gone, and Jane was left feeling more confused than ever.

* * *

Jane sometimes wondered why she didn't just call SHEILD and let them know Thor's physcotic brother was stalking her.

Sometimes she wondered why Thor hadn't come to rescue her.

And the process of eating another tub of ice cream and weeping until she passed out of exhaustion started all over again.

But tonight, Jane decided she would mix up her usual routine of grieving by getting out her stash of booze. Coffee just wasn't strong enough anymore.

She figured she deserved it after all the madness that had transpired over half a decade of her life. Jane had almost forgotten she even had it. She couldn't exactly remember the last time she had even got it out though, but Jane figured she must have promised herself not to drink it again for sometime because the poor bottle was stuffed away under her freezer, deep in the cracks of ice. Jane had to let it thaw on her roof for the majority of the day.

Jane lost track of how many drinks she had after her third one, and chastised herself at how much of a lightweight she was. She knew she would have a bad hangover come morning, but at this point she couldn't care less.

"Screw it!" She exclaimed, downing another drink before pouring herself another of the burning liquid.

Jane glanced around the lab through half lidded eyes, and reared her head back slightly at the sight of the night sky outside the windows. That's funny, it hadn't been night time when she started this...

"You never cease to surprise me, Jane Foster."

Jane rolled her eyes and looked over her shoulder to see none other than Loki, dressed in- Ooh! Wow! Leather this time! standing next to her dinosaur of a computer.

"Well, well, well!" Jane found her voice extremely loud, or maybe it was just loud compared to her, as she not so gracefully got to her feet, drink in hand, and stumbled over to him.

"If it isn't Loki, brother of Thor, come to threaten to kill me again! Then, not kill me, tell the towns people were an item, refuse my offer to let you stay here, and then pop up again!" Jane took a long swig of the booze, burped, giggled, and poked him in the chest.

"You're too late pal," Jane exclaimed with tipsy confidence."I plan on killing myself by tonight's end. You didn't get here in time!"

He rose his black eyebrows at her, then smiled in that creepy way before he removed her tiny hand from his chest. Jane blinked when she realized she had went from poking him to using his chest for support.

"I would very much enjoy watching you try."

Jane rose her eyebrows and laughed, and watched in complete satisfaction as Loki turned his head away from her no doubt awful whiskey breath. Jane giggled her way back to the kitchen table, almost poured herself another glass before she looked back at Loki with a stupid smile and narrowed eyes.

"Another!" She yelled, throwing the glass to the floor and laughing at Loki's surprised expression. Jane couldn't contain her fits of cackles as she slipped to the floor. After a few minutes, Jane opened her tear filled eyes and looked up to see Loki, exactly where she left him, staring at her with that same damned neutral expression.

"Oh, Loki..." Jane shook her head as she pulled herself up. _When __did I start using his first name? _"Why did you really come here?"

He eyed her carefully as she frowned at the shattered glass on the floor.

"Again with the motive. Why must there always be a reason? Perhaps I wanted to visit you."

Jane shook her head and went for another glass in the cupboard. "Oh please," She lauhged into her shoulder. "No one just pays me a visit, espicaily not you."

He laughed, and Jane glared.

"Well then, perhaps I just wanted to watch you make a fool of yourself."

Jane nodded, set down her half downed glass and started for the stairs that lead to the roof. She felt Loki's gaze on her back as she walked clumsily up the steps, and turned to his confused face right before she opened the door.

"You comin'?" She slurred, he stayed where he was.

"I beg your pardon?" He took a step forward. "Where, exactly? The roof?"

Jane nodded. "You wanted to watch me commit suicide, right?"

The air grew tense, and Loki narrowed his eyes at her.

"You aren't in any condition to decide when your time on this realm should end."

Jane snorted. "Oh, and you are?"

His face sharpened, and then loosened, and he gestured for her to continue to her grave with his right hand.

XXXXXXX

Jane was right at the edge of the roof when she heard Loki's footsteps make their way to her left.

Jane looked out just over the edge of the roof, gulped, and tried to clear away her blurry vision.

"You are actually considering killing yourself?" She heard his soft voice reach her beating ear drums as the wind whipped around her small frame. "You would kill yourself if only to make a statement to me which I couldn't care about one way or the other?"

"Maybe I'm not doing it for you!" She yelled- her mind was racing, and she rocked slightly on her heels.

"Then tell me, Jane, why you want to kill yourself. Is it because my beloved brother has not kept his word to you?"

Jane grit her teeth. "Shut up..."

She heard him step closer.

"Is it because both of your parents had left you to self raise at the young age of twelve?"

Jane balled her fists and shut her eyes, and wondered where he had come across such information. "How do you know that?"

"Erik Selvig did inform you of his time as my prisoner, did he not? Did he not tell you of how I captured his mind, pried open every deep, dark secret to use against him if he interfered in my plans? His thoughts became my thoughts, his memories my memories. And when he wasn't so intent on completing the portal for the Chitauri, his thoughts dwelled on you!" Loki spat, his voice like venom. "Poor little Jane Foster, who lost her parents in a fatal car wreck. Poor little Jane, who was lucky to be alive herself because she had been a part of it all. You sat, in the back seat, watching them argue, and right before you could warn them of the oncoming truck, it was too late!"

Jane blinked open her eyes and felt hot tears spill down her cheeks. Her intoxicated mind couldn't exactly process much thought at the moment other than the fact that someone was standing directly behind her, she felt their body heat, and their breathing sent tingles down her spine as their head came right to her left ear.

"Poor, little Jane, who will never be able to see them again until she herself, passes on to the after life." He whispered, his voice quieter than it previously had been.

Jane clenched her fists, unclenched, then clenched them again as she spun around on her heel and went to strike him. He took a swift step away before she was able to hit him though. Jane wobbled on her feet as she tried to find her footing and clawed at the air in front of her before she lost her balance completely. Jane fell, but instead of meeting the pebbled ground of her roof, she felt air swallow her up.

A small part of her brain, the one still rational, decided that trying to hit Loki had been a bad move. Because now, she really was falling to her death. Jane shut her eyes and felt her heart leap to her throat. Time was going in slow motion, and just when Jane thought she would hit the ground she would start falling all over again. It felt so unreal, and memory's of her childhood, her parents, the stars, Thor, Darcy, and Erik all flashed before her eyes.

And Loki...

Jane's eyes snapped open then, and the image of stars greeted her as she fell. She felt slightly comforted at the sight of them all, and the Big Dipper, saying their last goodbye as she inched closer to the desert floor with each breath.

When Jane jerked to a stop, and the arm under her back and below the folds of her knees wrapped around her tightly, she thought for a moment Thor had come to rescue her.

All thoughts of Thor vanished when she looked up, startled, into the face of Loki.

His green eyes were fixated deep into her shiny brown, and his expression looked almost scared. Almost. Jane suddenly tensed when she realized his arms were cradling her to his body. Her face was pushed up against his chest, and his hands held her in a vice grip. But something was different about his hold on her. It wasn't like the night he dangled her over the edge of her lab, his grip on her now was gentle and firm.

Jane's breath caught in her throat when she realized Loki had saved her.

They stayed in their position for a long time, both of them simply staring at each other in stunned silence until Jane finally caved and blinked, and Loki repeated the action a second later.

She looked up at him another moment until her vision became blurry and she started sobbing into his chest. Realization that she could have died if Loki had not caught her sped up to Jane and hit her like a bat to a baseball.

"Come now," She heard him whisper to her, his grip on her tightening. "You are tired, it is time for bed."

Jane felt him shift her weight as the door to her trailer opened, and he edged their way carefully into the tiny, portable home with graceful ease. She continued to cry, her tears making her face red and her nose snotty as he set her down in to her bed and carefully started taking off her shoes.

"I-I could have... could have died!" She sobbed, wiping at her nose and tossing her head into her pillow. Loki knit his eyebrows as she flipped onto her stomach and began to cry harder, her hands fisted in her doe colored hair as she struggled for breath.

"Jane," He tried, sighing as her melodramatic performance carried on.

"Why?" She asked, shifting onto her side and looking at him as he stood at the foot of her bed, one of her boots still in his hand.

He didn't respond, only looked to the floor and placed her shoe on the top of her hamper.

"Pardon?"

Jane sniffled. "Why do you do this? What do you have to gain by tormenting me? You show up and act like you're not driving me insane and then suddenly you... save me."

Jane blinked.

"You did, um... You saved me."

Jane turned her head when she felt the backs of cool fingers rest on the top of her forehead. She saw Loki, with an expression she had never seen upon his face before, stare down at her and gulp.

"What are you-?" Jane tried to ask, but suddenly she felt really tired, and the headache she had mere moments ago started to vanish. She looked up at Loki through half-lidded brown eyes as he whispered to her.

"Go to sleep, little mortal. I'll be here when you wake up."

Jane couldn't decide why, but the thought of him staying with her made her relax, and put her mind at ease as she slowly and blissfully fell into unconsciousness.

* * *

A/N: Tell me what you guys think. Love it, hate it? I'm curious!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Very quick update! Yeah!

* * *

Jane awoke with a start.

She felt the familiar fabric of her bed sheets, and the smell of her gingerbread scented candle invaded her nose. Jane looked at the nightstand by her bed where she knew the candle sat, and frowned when she saw it was lit.

_That's funny... I don't remember lighting it..._

She was in her trailer, and said trailer was dark except for the sliver of light from the doors window. Jane blinked, rubbed at her eyes, and sat up.

The events of the previous night immediately swam back into Jane's foggy brain, and vertigo practically slammed her back down into her bed as she gasped.

She had been on the lab's roof...

Had- had fallen...

And Loki had been there.

Jane felt her heart thud against her chest, once, hard.

Her fingers curled about the clothe underneath her, and Jane felt like crying again.

No tears came. Jane felt like punching something.

She lied there for a long time, staring at the ceiling as something continuously crashed against her skull over and over until that damned sliver of morning light became too much and she was forced to clamp her eyes shut.

Jane only opened her eyes again when the smell of coffee overpowered the gingerbread.

She sat up, slowly this time, and looked out into the tiny kitchen of her trailer to see Loki, beside her coffee brewer, cradling her "I Hate Mondays" mug in his left hand.

Jane tried calling for him, but wasn't even able to open her lips before his head snapped in her direction, and the sliver of light caught his face.

His gaze softened when he saw her struggling to get out of bed.

"I wouldn't do that." His voice broke the silence, and she looked up to see him walking slowly toward her.

"What are you doing here?" Jane asked weakly, not listening to him.

"I told you last night I would stay with you." His voice grew quiet, and Jane found it a violent change from his usual talk. "You did not object."

Jane glared. "Maybe because you put me to sleep."

He rose his eyebrows. "Ah! So you remember something. That is good!"

"I remember you being really mean..." Jane murmured, giving no protest to his hand when it pushed her back down into bed.

"I remember you being very drunk." He said blatantly, his lips in a line.

"You're not funny."

"You're not sober."

Jane went to smack him. He grabbed her hand before she could.

"Such violence in one so small." He commented, lowering her hand back to her side.

"I wish you would leave." She muttered, turning her head to the side and shutting her eyes.

"I'm sorry to say I will not be granting your wish-"

She snorted. "You never do."

"- but it is only because you are so obviously in need of a caretaker."

Jane rose an eyebrow. "So you're playing babysitter?"

"No. I am going to attempt to help you remedy a hangover, and put all of your suicidal thoughts to the back of your head."

Jane turned to look at him, but he was already leaving for the kitchen again.

A moment later, he reappeared with a cup full of coffee in hand.

He brought it to her, she took it slowly. Their fingers brushed one another's before he made sure she had it, and let go.

Jane eyed him suspiciously and held the coffee at a distance.

Loki rolled his eyes. "It's not poisoned. I give you my word."

"I wasn't saying it was, I just... Coffee? Really? Most people get water..."

Loki shook his head and huffed out a breath. "I apologize. Asgardians have different methods to cope with the after effects of alcohol. I was not sure how Midgardians coped with hangovers, and I had observed you drank numerous amounts of this strange, disgusting brown liquid."

Jane felt a smile tug at her lips. "You don't like coffee?"

"Not particularly, no."

Jane took a sip.

"It doesn't taste bad."

"I'm glad you enjoy." He nodded to her. "I myself tried it this morning. I can't say I'm fond."

Jane shrugged and fingered the handle of the mug. "Thor liked it..."

Loki stiffened.

Jane looked up to see his jaw clench.

"Loki?"

He looked away for a moment, then turned back to face her- only his eyes didn't reach her.

"Yes?"

"Thank you."

Minutely, his eyes found hers again, and when they did Jane found something new in them she had not seen in all of their previous encounters.

"You are welcome." He replied, his voice monotone.

"Loki?"

"Mhhm?"

"Why are you here? Why- why do you...?"

Jane wasn't the first to break eye contact this time. Loki's emerald pupils fixated on a spot by Jane's covered legs on the bed before he slowly sat, glancing at her to make sure he was given permission, and eased down beside her. His weight made the bed dip, and Jane had to reposition herself to keep her body from rolling into him.

"If I may be honest, Jane." Loki hesitated a moment before speaking again. He couldn't find himself to look her in the eye, and Jane, for a reason she couldn't place, felt concerned to see him looking so distressed.

"I have only just begun showing myself to you. Before, I shrouded myself from your sight, but after awhile I thought it only right to let you know of my presence. I did not lie to you when I said I thought of killing you, but you thought of the night we were on the roof. I had planned on killing you over a year ago, but the night I came, you..."

Loki paused, and licked his lips as if recalling a memory before he risked a glance to her face. He found it unsettling to see her staring blankly at him, waiting for him to finish his story.

"You had been crying, hot tears spewed from your face and I... I couldn't find it in myself to harm you. I looked at you and, I saw me. You were lost, and alone, and forgotten. No one came to comfort you."

Loki bit the inside of his cheek, breathed in, and raised his chin ever so slightly as he cast his gaze back upon Jane's face.

They only stared at one another for a moment.

"Why did you want to kill me?"

Loki's insides shook at her question.

"I was angry, and jealous, and thought you were to blame for where it all began. You, after all, redeemed Thor, and I... I hated you."

Jane nodded, set her coffee down on the nightstand next to her bed, and looked down at her lap.

"But Jane," His voice, and the desperate way it spoke to her brought Jane's full and undivided attention to his pale, sharp face.

"You must know, that is not how I feel about you now."

Jane swallowed, brushed away a stray hair from her face, and tucked it back behind her ear. Loki's gaze watched her every move until she found the courage to speak again.

"I want you to leave, Loki."

Jane found the words hard to say even as she spoke them.

She felt the weight of his body shift away, and cast her gaze down and away as Loki's lean figure stood over her.

"Then this is our goodbye, Jane Foster."

He left, and when he did, Jane expected him to pop back up again not days later.

But he never did, and Jane couldn't help the guilty, and _lonely _feeling that swept over her when she realized this truth.

* * *

"I'm sorry, _what?!" _

Jane couldn't help but wince at Darcy's loud, sharp voice as it echoed from her computers speakers and emptied into the lab.

It had been awhile since Jane had contact with anyone but Loki, and after the strange events of the last few months, Jane needed to confine in someone her mixed feelings. Feelings about Thor, about Loki...

Jane, unfortunately, let a bit too much slip.

Darcy's dark eyebrows creased in sharp lines as she threw her hands up in the air, her expression ranging from baffled to angry to shocked all within a mere few seconds as the news Jane had just revealed to her sunk in.

"You mean to tell me this had been going on for weeks and you didn't have the mind to tell _anyone_? Jane, are you crazy? Ya know what, I'm diagnosing you as completely cookoo. I'm gonna get SHEILD on the phone right now and tell them everything you just told me."

"No, Darcy!" Jane exclaimed, watching with slight panic through the computer monitor as her friend reached for her cell phone. "He didn't kill me!"

"Yeah, but he wanted to! And lets not forget he tried to take over the world not but a few years ago!"

"He's changed!" Jane pleaded, watching in relief as Darcy lowered her cell phone.

Darcy's expression suddenly turned to one of horror.

"What?" Jane asked, slightly nervous.

"Oh no," Darcy muttered, shaking her head. "You're suffering from like, some Stockholm shit, aren't you?"

Jane scoffed. "What?"

"It's not impossible!" Darcy tried. "I read a book about it once in college. It says that if a hostage finds his or her captor to refrain from hurting them, they look at it like a form of friendship or something like that."

"Loki and I aren't friends." The words tasted bitter when they left Jane's mouth, and she felt almost wrong to be saying them.

"But your defending him! You don't defend someone unless you're friends!"

Jane rolled her eyes. "If it makes you feel better, he hasn't come back since that night."

Darcy nodded, still not quite sure how to respond to Jane's telling her of the night she nearly died.

Darcy's phone started ringing.

Jane watched curiosity as Darcy looked at it, widened her eyes in surprise, and then shot Jane an apologetic look.

"Look, I gotta go Jane. I know you really need some one on one girl talk right now, and I promise I'll get back to you soon, but..."

"I understand," Jane sighed, smiling. "I'll let you go. See ya soon."

Darcy smiled sadly. "Let me just warn you Jane. The moment something bad happens, and you cave and tell me and I know you will, I won't hesitate to get Secret Service on the phone."

Jane couldn't help but think it wouldn't matter, Secret Service or not, Loki would still find her. "Bye, Darcy..."

Jane's computer monitor faded to black when Darcy cut the connection.

She sat by the screen for awhile before heading to bed.

* * *

Night after night, for days on end, Jane found sleep impossible.

Her mind never wandered from Loki, and Jane regretted ever telling him she wished he would leave. Because now, she finds herself bitterly thinking, she misses him more than Thor.

* * *

Erik payed his yearly visit around September.

He spent about two weeks with her, heading out toward the desert- something she had promised him she wouldn't do unless he was with her- and attempted to open up the Asbru bridge with her makeshift machine.

Deep down, they both knew it would fail. Jane kept her optimism, but she knew though that she needed a much more powerful conduit. Erik had once mentioned the Tesseract, but it was too late for that. Thor had apparently taken it back to Asgard with him when they captured Loki.

Jane told herself that was a good thing. The Tesseract was such an immense source of power- she herself probably wouldn't have been able to handle it. And perhaps it was better Thor had it. He, of all people, would probably be better equipped to use it and help restore the bridge with it.

But Jane still had her doubts.

And of course, her theory had not worked yet again, and the trip back to town was a silent one.

When they reached the lab, Jane threw off her seatbelt, jumped out of the van, slammed the door shut and stomped her way to her trailer.

"Jane," She stopped when she heard Erik, still exiting the van, and tried to contain her tears as he spoke.

"You know Thor is trying, but we don't exactly know their concept of time. Five years for us could be five days for them." He paused for a second, then smiled down at Jane in that fatherly way he had _finally _perfected. "Did I ever tell you what Thor asked me right before he left?"

Jane caved and wiped away a stray tear when Erik came to stand in front of her.

"No..." She sniffled, looking down. "What did he say?"

Erik rested a hand on her tiny shoulder. "He asked me how you were, and if you were any closer to proving your theories. He only talked about _you, _and his top priority, before ever even capturing Loki, was to make sure you were safe. That's what he said."

Jane broke down then, let herself fall into Erik's welcoming arms, and shed the much needed tears away from her stinging eyes.

"He gave you his word, Jane. I don't think Thor is one to dishonor his word." Erik whispered, leading her into her trailer and giving her an encouraging hug before heading to his own.

After Erik's two weeks were up, he left, and Jane was grateful that Erik had not discovered the truth behind her tears.

* * *

It was late, about two in the morning to be exact, and Jane was on her fourth cup of coffee.

She had put the whiskey back in the freezer.

The "miracle machine", the one that was supposed to open up the bridge between her world and Thor's had broken. Jane had spent all day working on it, skipped all her meals, and was utterly exhausted.

Jane gritted her teeth, attempted to once again yank out a screw near the base of the amplifier, and stumbled onto her back when she finally pulled it free.

Three metal supporters for the base fell down as well.

Jane threw the screw as far as she could and tugged at her hair, containing the scream threatening to rip past her lips.

"Crap! Crap, crap, crap!"

Jane felt like crying.

Instead, she opted to lay on her back and stare up at the blinding fluorescent lights of her lab.

Jane shut her eyes, let her fuzzy mind ease, and whimpered.

It had been an entire month since she had seen Loki, and Jane was beginning to think he really had meant it when he said goodbye to her. The only thing that kept Jane sane through the time was attempting to make contact with Asgard, and chatting with Darcy over Skype.

But sometimes even those outlets didn't help her mind from wandering back to Thor's brother.

Jane couldn't decided exactly how she felt about Loki. It wasn't like he was trying to kill her anymore, but Jane didnt particularly like it when he teased her, and how he acted like he didn't care about her well being but obviously did, otherwise he wouldn't have saved her that night she fell off the roof. She didn't like his creepy smile, or the way he gave her these looks with those sharp, calculating green eyes. And most of all, Jane didnt like how he would appear at the most inconvenient of times and then disappear just as quick as he came.

_You don't have to like them, you only_ miss them.

Jane scrunched her nose in annoyance at the truth. She did, in all honesty, she missed Loki and his strange hour visits, and his charming manners, and graceful face and his long, lean frame and the way he sat like a whore. Jane missed him. But she also missed Thor. She missed Thor's big, bright smile and his radiant aura and the way he just _loved _everyone and everything. Jane missed the kiss they had shared too. But the question was, did he miss her? Did he ever wonder about her anymore, or brush the edges of his lips with his bulky digits and remember the taste of her lips? According to Erik, Thor had at least remembered her, and cared that she be out of harms ways.

But did Thor think of her the way she thought of him? Or, at least the way she use to?

Jane wasn't so certain she still harbored those long ago feelings for the God of Thunder.

She didn't want to admit it to herself, but Jane was starting to wonder what it would be like to taste Loki's lips, to feel his skin, to understand why it was he did what he did to Thor, to New York.

But most importantly, Jane wanted to know how he felt about her.

Ever since the morning she found him waiting in her trailer, Jane wanted to know what it was he meant when he said his perspective of her had changed. Loki was something of an enigma to her, and Jane itched to figure him out. She wanted to know why he acted the way he did, why he only dropped by ever so often and then vanished just as quickly. Jane wanted to know what possesed him to save her, and threaten her, and why, for whatever reason, he wasn't locked away deep in whatever prison Asgard may have.

Jane accepted the simple truth that she just wanted Loki.

"Where did you go?" She whispered, hoping to hope that wherever he was, he was listening. "Why did you leave?"

* * *

A miracle had occurred.

Jane had been dozing off on the lab's couch, previosuly reading through star charts, when suddenly every monitor of the Einstein-Rosen Bridge tracker went off. Machines whirred and sirens beeped, and Jane shot up from the couch immediately.

Jane couldn't believe her eyes, the same effects from all those years ago when Thor landed were happening again!

Jane grabbed her coat, flung open the vans car door and threw Erik's advice of not going into the desert alone to the wind.

Thor was coming back!

She drove, in her usual manner of distracted driving, towards the gathering vortex of light and color overhead. She saw the storm brewing slowly, but Jane found it perplexing how nothing ever shot from the sky.

She kept the van a good distance away from where she thought his point of origin was, and when Jane parked the van, she was running as hard and as fast as she could when her feet hit the dirt.

Jane's face lit up like a child's as the vortex grew stronger, and as the colors grew brighter with each turn, and laughed to herself.

_Thor is finally coming back!_

Jane's enthusiasm vanished when she was suddenly knocked over by a powerful gust of wind.

Her arms caught her fall, and when Jane pushed herself back up from the ground she saw sand barreling her way in heavy waves. Jane turned her head toward the sky, saw the vortex, and shook her head frantically when she saw it vanishing.

"No!" Jane cried, throwing her arm to her face to shield the sand from her eyes.

The landscape grew dark with the Asbru bridges departure.

Jane wanted to cry, but thought otherwise when she was nearly knocked over again. She needed to find the van, and fast.

Jane struggled to put one foot in front of the other, and her lungs almost couldn't handle another intake of the red dirt. She coughed and hacked her way through the sand storm, her eyes stung painfully every time she was forced to blink to clear them away.

Jane was nearly knocked onto the ground for a third time.

"Jane!"

Jane froze, looked around, and continued to keep the sand away from her face.

"Jane!" The voice called again, and she almost couldn't believe her ears.

It was-

"Loki!" Jane yelled, desperate and relieved to finally hear his voice once again.

"Stay where you are!" She heard him command from a distance to her right.

Jane did as told, and not a second later she felt cool fingers wrap around her arms, and in a nauseating flash, she was no longer in the desert.

Jane opened her dirt infested eyes to see the familiar sight of computers and star charts.

"My lab..." She muttered, trying to turn her head the other way but meeting black leather instead.

"Jane," She heard Loki say, who still had her arms, and watched him kneel down just to where his eyes were at her level and gulp. "Where do you hurt?"

Jane blinked, then viciously rubbed at her eyes until Loki's hands drew hers away from her face. She watched as his own hands came up through blurry vision, and faintly- Jane almost couldn't feel his touch- Loki's thumb and forefinger drew the sand out from her eyes.

Jane blinked, then did it again, and was stunned speechless when everything became less blurry and her eyes didn't sting or itch anymore.

Jane turned her attention back to Loki when she felt his fingers brush her cheek.

"Where else?" He asked, his face sharp and serious.

Jane opened her mouth to speak when she tasted the desert dirt caked in her teeth and the roof of her mouth. She gagged, pointed to her throat, and was quickly being rushed to the couch by Loki.

He laid her down on her back, instructed her to open her mouth, and proceeded to use the same process to her lungs the way he did with her eyes.

Jane watched, a little nervous and a little fascinated, as sand traveled from deep in her itchy lungs into Loki's palm.

When the process was over, Jane hacked, sat up, and immediately a glass of water was shoved into her hand. Jane took it without hesitation and drank it greedily.

She sat the glass down on the table next to her after downing most of the water, and felt panic grip her when she found Loki missing from the previous spot he had been at.

"Loki!" Jane cried, flinging herself from the couch and scanning every part of her wide lab for his familiar raven hair.

"I'm here," He replied not a second later, his calm voice put Jane's strumming heart at ease, and Jane turned to see him wiping the sand off his hands down into the sink in the kitchen. "I'm not going anywhere."

Jane felt her cheeks flush slightly, smiled timidly as he made his way back toward her, and took back the glass- which had been filled to the brim again- when Loki picked it up and handed it to her.

Jane decided to simply not question it. Maybe he had used his magic to fill it back up. That would be the more logical thinking... sort of.

Jane took another sip before slowly sitting back onto her couch. Loki sat down beside her.

His face looked pale, and his usually groomed, slicked back hair fell into his face in black strips, and dirt decorated most of his body and clothes. Jane, with slight trepidation, brushed one of his stray locks behind his ear. His emerald eyes never left hers as she did so.

"I... I guess this is the second time you've saved my life." Jane stated, she slowly brought her arm back to her side and rested her hands in her lap.

Loki said nothing.

"I'm happy you came back..."

His chest rose greatly, and deflated greatly, and Jane realized he had been holding his breath. She was about to ask him if he was alright, but by the time she had opened her mouth to do so he was already speaking.

"Are you alright?"

Jane frowned. Not exactly the response she expected.

"Yeah, yeah I am." Jane bit the inside of her cheek before continuing. "What was that thing? I thought for sure that it was Thor, I mean, the last time I saw that-"

"I imagine it was." Loki cut her off, his face now stern and unforgiving. Jane wondered what she had done to suddenly make him so rigid again. "I say the construction of the Bifrost is nearly complete. Perhaps it was a failed attempt to bring him here."

Jane looked outside the labs window, and only saw the sand whipping away in the distance. Any sign that the vortex of colors had ever been there was gone now.

"You miss him."

Jane's head shot around to see Loki regarding her with that damned neutral expression of his.

"Well, yeah, sort of..."

_Tell him the truth, Jane!_

"I see." Loki looked away from her.

Jane gulped, and chugged down another gulp of water before finding the courage to speak. "But mostly, I just... Just wanna see Asgard. Ever since I was little I thought there were other places and people beyond us, ones who were probably in far more advanced civilizations and worlds and had technology we Earth goers have never even seen, and-"

Jane cut herself off when she saw Loki staring at her. His eyes twinkled.

"Wait..." Jane's brow furrowed as realization hit her. "Is that why you're here? I mean, because the Bifrost is broken? Do you not have anyway to get back?"

Loki lost the twinkle in his eye, and Jane immediately regretted ever asking him the question when something akin to sorrow swept across his face.

"I'm afraid you are correct, Jane."

Jane shook her head in confusion, and tried- she really did- to not ask him her next question.

"But, I mean, how? I thought Thor took you back, and-"

"When we arrived on Asgard, I was able to shape shift into a guard. No one saw past my ruse, except maybe Heimdall, and I took one of my many secret passages way here. For awhile I walked about as different people, but that grew boring. And then... I remembered you."

Jane nodded, and brushed another one of her stray hairs behind her ear again.

"Don't you miss it?"

He looked at Jane as if she had grown a third eye.

"No."

"Oh..."

Jane bit her lip.

"Why?"

Loki sighed, made himself comfortable, and turned his head to face her. He shut his eyes, and his face scrunched up as if he were pain. Jane wanted to ask him if he was ok, but once again, he beat her to speaking first.

"I was the outcast of my home. Where I lived, Thor was the epitome of radiance and goodness itself. I was the one who hid in the shadows. While my brother and his friends grew to become great warriors, I performed and practiced magic. Magic is not a great accomplishment in Asgard, so I was not thought highly of. No one..." Loki sighed and shut his eyes forcefully. "I was nothing."

Jane shook her head frantically. "No, Loki. What you just did awhile ago, with the sand in my lungs... That- that was amazing! You saved my life!"

Loki stared at her for a moment before the corners of his mouth tugged up slightly. "I'm glad you think so, Lady Jane."

Jane continued, not able to stop herself. "And the way you can just magically appear out of no where, and the way you get these little green sparks at your finger tips, and the way you study everything to a fault! Loki, you're that and so much more! Why can't you see that?"

Loki looked at her in a way he had never done before, as if he had just discovered the cute to cancer, and slowly sat up.

"My... my mother once said something similar to me."

Jane smiled. "And she knew what she was talking about."

His expression darkened, but in a softer way, and it didn't escape Jane's brown eyes.

"Do you miss her?"

Loki took a deep breath.

"If only one person I truly wish I had never done wrong to, it would be her. She never did any wrong to anyone, and Frigg... The sentimental woman, she looked past all my flaws, defended me when Thor would not. To answer your question, Jane Foster, yes... I do miss her."

Jane nodded, and rested her hand on Loki's back, making small circles. If he felt it, he didn't acknowledge.

"What about Thor?"

Loki tensed.

Jane moved her hand away.

"I'm sorry," Jane spat out quickly. "Did I say something-"

"No, Jane." He faced her fully, shifting his whole body towards her and resting his hands in his lap. "You have never said the wrong things." His voice came out in a hushed sort of way. "I... I do miss him, but not in the same way I miss Frigg. I'm afraid my relationship with Thor is broken beyond repair."

"That isn't true..." Jane tried, a crease forming between her eyebrows. "I... I mean, I can't pretend to know Thor the way you do. Gosh, I only knew him for a weekend! But I have no doubt in my mind that he wants to make amends with you just as much as you want to make amends with him."

Jane waited for Loki's response as he fiddled with his fingers.

"Well," He finally broke the silence and stood. Jane rushed to her feet as well. "If you assure me you are well, I will pester you with my presence no longer."

Jane felt her heart plummet.

Loki rose his thick, black eyebrows at her.

"Well?"

Jane blinked, felt something bubble in her chest- something like determination- and before she knew it she had Loki's wrist in her right hand, and she clamped down on it hard.

"Don't leave again!" She pleaded, more like whined, and Loki truly looked baffled at her impulsive movement.

Jane took in deep breaths as she waited for his response. Loki's mouth hung agape at her in astonishment. He blinked, his eyes darted all across her face, and then-surprisingly- Loki smiled, teeth and all, and laughed.

Jane knit her eyebrows.

"What-?"

"You really do continue to surprise me, Jane Foster." His smile fell slowly into a simple, elegant one. He looked down into the hopeful face of the short, petite Astrophysicist and sighed. "Very well, then, I will stay."

Jane couldn't help the grin that graced her lips.

* * *

A/N: Hope you guys don't think things are moving too fast, because we are definitely not done developing their slow building relationship. It's actually only just begun.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

* * *

Jane wasn't completely sure what it was, but it was definitely something, something _big_, and it changed.

It started the morning she woke up on the couch, and felt a rough, silky fabric beneath her cheek. She turned her head up slowly and gasped in surprise to see his face, his eyes locked on her probably long before she had awoken, and Jane could only stare as she felt his body tense.

And then Jane realized she had slept, through the night, pressed against Loki's body.

And Loki had not moved her.

He was staring at her though, his jaw tight and his nostrils slightly flared. For a fearful moment Jane had thought he was angry, and was coiled to spring.

But he didn't.

Jane remained where she was for the longest time, and her heart sped and slowed every now and then when she realized Loki was not angry, but...

_Afraid_?

There was a brief flash in his dimmed, sharp eyes. His face kept it's usual neutral, stoic mask, but some color was in his cheeks, and Jane blinked, and almost smiled when she found it was his blushing.

He was hot in the face!

But for whatever reason, she didn't know.

And then she pushed herself up and off him suddenly, and the sudden movement startled him as well as her.

Quiet followed for a few days between them.

Loki even disappeared for awhile, and Jane was left to think it was her fault.

_Did I do something wrong?_

But he came back. He always came back.

And a pressure against Jane's heart, one she had felt ever since the night he carried her to her trailer, eased up and fluttered away, almost like a baby bird flying for the first time from it's nest.

And that was when it all started changing.

Loki's entire personality changed in a drastic way. He became gentler, and more reserved, but at the same time he kept open. Loki was attentive to many things, Jane realized, and he studied things until there was almost no secrets left. Though she pretended to not notice, she did, and Jane saw the way his evergreen eyes watched her and the way the skin around them would tighten or widen as if he suddenly found something there he hadn't before.

Jane wasn't sure how she felt about it all.

She wasn't sure why she asked him to stay with her, why she _wanted_ him to stay. He was a crazy man, and in the blink of an eye could turn and betray her. Jane knew what he was capable of, she had seen the footage while in Norway when he attacked New York. She had heard the news reporters tell the death tole over and over as it multiplied everyday he was on their planet.

Loki was a murderer, and a liar, and a man Jane knew shouldn't be here.

_What would Erik say? What would Erik do if he knew?_

But despite the things she knew, or at least, the things Jane _thought_ she knew, she couldn't imagine the man who was practically _living_ with her being any of those things.

He was surprisingly courteous, and helped Jane whenever she timidly asked him for a favor. He respected her lab and did not pry in much of her matters. But he wasn't completely disinterested, and Jane was sort of delighted whenever his child like curiosity shown through his tense barrier. He asked many questions about her _realm_, as he called it, much like Thor had. It still sounded strange to her though. She enjoyed watching his reactions to things when he discovered them.

Jane remembered, fondly, the first time she showed him the T.V.

She had lured him to the couch, set beside him, and showed him the many buttons on the remote. He payed close attention to her every word and knit his eyebrows, concentrating hard.

When Jane felt he finally understood the contraption, she slipped it into his long, elegant fingers, and watched in contained excitement as he took it in his left hand, and with his right hand, he brought his index finger down and slowly, tentatively, pressed down on the red power button.

When the image of moving pictures sprang to life, Loki's head snapped up, startled, and he nearly fell off the couch when he jumped up.

Jane winced- the volume was unbearably loud. She scrambled to her feet and quickly ran to his aid, grabbing the remote and quickly scrambling for the lower volume button. When it was practically mute, she let out a strangled breath and turned to see Loki. Somehow, in their struggle to regain composure, his ebony hair had shifted and some lay across his brow. He was frozen, frightened almost, and Jane was suddenly worried.

She opened her mouth to ask him if he were alright, but he spoke first, letting out a startled gasp.

"What in the nine realms is this _obnoxious_ contraption?"

Jane giggled to herself. He truly looked startled, and his eyes were wide.

"It's uh, well, it's like a source of entertainment here."

Loki looked incredulous.

"You call that maddening box of color and light _entertainment_?"

"Not everything inside of it is that bad. A lot of great story tellers make movies and shows that people love... Sorry about how loud it was. I guess it's been a long time since Darcy was here." Jane blinked, and staggered slightly. "Wow... I haven't touched this in five years..."

Loki relaxed slowly as his gaze flickered from her to the T.V. and back. His eyebrows knit and the skin between them creased. Loki's lips pursed.

"You Midgardians have developed many peculiar things as you have grown."

Jane gave him a confused look.

"Do you all not have things like this in Asgard."

He rose his eyebrows at her, as if it should be obvious, but she only shot him back the same look.

"No."

Jane reeled her head back as if missing a blow to the face.

Now it was her turn to look incredulous.

"_What_?!"

Loki laughed slightly.

"We are warriors, Jane. Asgardians have no such need for your technical devices and strange, confusing sorcery."

Jane felt the corners of her mouth twitch up slightly.

"It's... It isn't, ugh, it's not sorcery."

Loki rose a black eyebrow.

"Then what would you call it?"

"Electricity."

He furrowed his brow, studied the word as it rolled off Jane's tongue.

Loki gestured aimlessly toward the television.

"Is this electricity?"

"Yeah! Sort of..." Jane eagerly nodded her head and pointed up toward the sky through the labs window walls. "You see, there's this satellite that orbits our planet, and sends and receives signals that broadcast back to us and allow us to use our televisions. And it's constantly taking pictures of Earth and it tells us the weather and... lots of other stuff too but-"

"That's very interesting..." Loki murmured, fiddling with the remote again and pushing lightly on the upper volume button until the hearing level was to his satisfactory.

Jane faced the T.V. when she heard the unmistakable voice of Jim Carry emit from the speakers.

She couldn't help but laugh to herself.

_Oh, the irony..._

Of all things for Loki to be watching, of all the Jim Carry movies, the only one on was "The Mask."

She watched Loki's expression as she eased her way back down into her previous seat to see if any flash of recognition would suddenly sweep across his face.

Nothing but deep concentration appeared though.

After some time, the scene came around where they finally revealed where the mask came from.

Jane didn't take her eyes off Loki's face as the scene progressed. Minutley, one eyebrow rose curiously as he leaned forward and listened, and she saw his finger tap on the volume two or three times before it became louder.

Jim Carry's voice boomed over the speakers._ "Loki? Who's Loki?"_

Then suddenly, the television stopped.

Jane turned toward the frozen image of the screen before turning back to see Loki's thumb moving away from the pause button. She briefly wondered how he knew what button to press but quickly shook the thought away.

He looked to her, utterly confused.

"The mortals think I invented this strange costume to wear upon the face?" Loki said, though he didn't sound incredulous, or angered, or offended at all. He sounded... intrigued, actually.

"Your myths and storys must change greatly over the years. I remember when most of your people still worshipped us..." He frowned. "I have never in my life invented this _mask_, as they refer to it." Loki suddenly grinned, and it startled Jane. "But it certainly sounds like a fun idea."

Jane only nodded nervously, and cast her gaze back to the T.V.

She waited for it to turn back on.

It never did.

Jane turned back to face Loki-

Only to see him staring at her, thoughtful.

Jane glanced nervously to the T.V. before looking back toward him.

"Yes?" She asked, raising her eyebrow and gripping the armrest of her side of the couch reflexively.

He smiled crookedly. "Tell me, Jane. What would you prefer to watch on your _television_?"

Jane only stared at him a moment.

"You're asking me?"

Loki frowned. "Obviously."

Jane stared at him a moment longer, he rose his eyebrows.

"Um..." Jane suddenly scrambled, for what she didn't know, before coming to a halt and the dropping to the floor, crawling toward the shelf under the television set. She kept old movies under their, and frowned when she saw the layer of dust covering them all like a blanket.

It really _had_ been five years since Darcy was here.

Jane's brushed off the coat of dust on the sides and let her eyes roam over the many titles, trying to find the one she wanted.

And then, it was there, sitting right in front of her.

Jane smiled triumphantly, rose from her kneeling position and grabbed the movie before putting it into the cassette player.

Jane reached for the remote, and slowly understanding, Loki let it slide into her palm. She turned, hit a button on the controller, and the movie sprang to life.

"Dirty Dancing..." Jane sighed, sinking down next to Loki and setting the remote down on the coffee table. "This is my favorite movie... I remember the first time I watched it. I was nine, and Dad and Erik were out somewhere. Mom had put this in and told me not to tell Dad she let me watch it. I'd never seen anything like it before... I guess you could say it was sort of- I don't know. It was exciting."

Jane turned to see Loki watching her in his usual way when he studied something, but his gaze had softened somehow, it had changed.

Jane swallowed, cleared her throat, and turned back toward the movie. It was just beginning, and the sun outside her lab was now setting.

Throughout the entire movie, Loki gave her nothing in his facial expressions or his movements to indicate if he was enjoying himself or not, or enjoying the movie. She almost asked him once, but bit her lip and decided against it. Usually he commented on everything, but Loki remained strangely quiet throughout the entire film.

And by the time it was over, Jane shifted her entire body to face him, and held her breath waiting for his answer to her unspoken question of whether or not he liked it.

Then, his head dipped, and came back up. The only light that illuminated his face was the blue light from the television screen. It lit up his features in a way the sun didn't though, and it made his eyes even more intimidating. But at the same time, it made them lose their sharpness, it actually softened them.

Jane let out a quiet gasp when she took in his features as a whole, and realized his softened gaze was not a trick of the light, but his actual current facial expression.

"I quite enjoyed that, Jane Foster."

His voice was quiet, and sincere.

Jane could tell-

He was not lying.

"I'm glad..." She gave him a small smile before she felt her face flush. With all the vulgar dancing, and the way it made her nervous and hot wondering what his thoughts were throughout the entire movie, she had barely enjoyed herself.

Jane rubbed her blurry eyes when she saw it had gone completely dark outside, and the moon and stars twinkled down at her from the sky. She sat for a moment more before suddenly standing, and heading toward the kitchen. The only light currently available to give her clear direction was still currently the dim, blue light from the T.V. When Jane found the kitchen's light switch, she flipped it on and quickly squinted as her eyes adjusted to the offending yellow light. She turned back toward the living room to see Loki still sat on the couch. Jane maneuvered her way toward the T.V. to turn it off, and when she turned back around, her face smashed into something hard, and leather.

Jane stumbled back, and nearly crashed into the T.V. A hand quickly caught her by the waist though, and yanked her forward again, almost to where her nose faintly skimmed what she now realized was someone's chest.

Jane looked up, startled.

Not just _someone_, but _Loki_.

His evergreen eyes were black in the dark, and the kitchen light was so far away that it only barely illuminated them. His hand was still on her waist, and he was looking down at her as she shivered, despite not being cold at all.

"What... what are you doing?" Jane tried to ask, but nothing came out of her mouth when she opened it.

Slowly, she felt Loki's hand stiffen, but he kept a firm and gentle grip on her as his other hand reached for her left. Jane was completely immobile, and did not protest when he slid her hand into his, and rose it up and out.

Jane blinked when she saw her right hand rested on his shoulder.

"I would like to try something, Jane..." He murmured quietly, his eyes roamed across her face, and briefly flickered toward her lips before coming back to her eyes. "But not the way they so did in your movie."

And then his legs were moving, and she was following.

And they were _dancing_.

Jane had never danced, maybe only once when her Dad had given her a lesson. But that was so long ago, and no one had ever asked her to Prom...

But surprisingly, she didn't stumble as they stepped. Loki, she noticed, was quite graceful on his feet, and he carried her around as if she were weightless.

Jane could not pull her eyes away from his as they moved about her lab, dodging every obstacle and effortlessly waltzing through the living room, then the kitchen, and then through the computers and tables and filing cabinets stocked about.

Jane felt his fingers intertwine through hers, and then suddenly she spun around, and was breathlessly knocked back into his chest.

Jane blinked when she realized her legs were moving without her own accord. She looked down-

To see her feet on top of Loki's.

Jane stared at him in awe, her mouth slightly gaped open as he danced them back around the lab before suddenly stopping.

Jane would have fell if not for his hand holding her to him.

He was breathing heavy now, and Jane could feel his heartbeat in her head. It made her brain feel mushy, her legs weak. She almost slid out of his arms from the impact of what had transpired not but seconds ago.

Jane's mind swirled.

_What just happened_?

He stared down at her, drinking in every detail of her face as she leaned into him, her entire body going limp.

But Jane stayed righted.

For a scary instant, Jane thought Loki was about to kiss her, and if he did, she couldn't find a reason to object.

But then he let go of her, not fast enough to make her fall but slow enough to make her stumble forward in the space he once occupied.

Loki backed away by five steps, and stopped only when he bumped into the back of the couch.

Jane couldn't stop her whimper of protest.

"Loki?"

He paused, regained whatever composure had slipped from his stance, and a line formed between his lips.

"Forgive me, I..." His eyebrows knit in confusion, and he looked away. "I don't know what came over me."

And then, before Jane could protest to his actions, Loki's hand came out, fingers up and posed to snap.

There was a flash of green light.

And then Loki was gone.

* * *

A/N: I decided to change the ending to this chapter because I felt I was leading into the plot of the story a bit too fast. I want to give Loki and Jane a bit more time before it starts changing drastically.


End file.
